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My father recently died and left his estate to his girlfriend. He lived in California where there is no common law marriage. Do my brothers and I have any rights? Would it be worth it to hire a lawyer to challenge the will?

Asked on 7/14/13, 2:12 pm

3 Answers from Attorneys

challenging a will is not easy. You have to prove that he was not able to make will due to incapacity. Testative capacity is one of the easiest burdens of proof to meet so that might be difficult. The other way to challenge a will is undue influence.Theother option is to challeneg the will in its entirety in that it was nt valid with witness signatures etc...sitting down with an attorney and even paying a couple of hours to review it would give you a better perspective and also give you strategy if you need to challenege the willt would make sure you had no regrets.

Kelvin Green is correct in his analysis. Take his advice and consult with a probate lawyer and be prepared to pay for two or three hours of his/her time, and ask for an opinion letter covering the analysis, with recommendations and answers to your questions.

A lawyer cannot make a reasonable determination of what the risks are in challenging a will without reviewing the will, talking to the witnesses in the attestation clause, and getting all the relevant facts from you in person. Being disinherited is an understandable emotional issue, but it plays no legal relevance.